


Death Wish

by eggsinsunnyside



Category: A Hat in Time (Video Game)
Genre: Prompt Fill, Snatcher Week, You got noodle man here being a tsundere, and hat kid being a tired child
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-24
Updated: 2018-10-24
Packaged: 2019-08-06 23:19:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16397012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eggsinsunnyside/pseuds/eggsinsunnyside
Summary: Snatcher wondered if the kid has a death wish.





	Death Wish

**Author's Note:**

> This is for the Snatcher Week Day 3, which is Death Wish. I'd add illustrations but I'm currently occupied with real life which is a bummer. 
> 
> Oh well.

Snatcher watched as Hat Kid barely avoided a massive disco ball crashed down at the spot that she had been mere moments ago in his pocket dimension. He had to admit, the kid had tenacity. Day after day, the kid would run up to him and demand to work on the contracts he had for her.  

It was her, what, fiftieth death so far and she was going at it with that face of determination. Even as Snatcher belittled her after every single death, she got back up and raised her umbrella in defiance. 

Snatcher wondered if the kid has a death wish. 

He quickly shook the thought off though, because  _ why would he even care _ ? The whole reason behind his 115 new contracts was to kill the brat in the first place! See, he was even smiling when the kid took a wrong step and was struck by a flurry of knives by the courtesy of that yellow featherbrain. That meant he did not care a single bit about the kid that was currently being maimed by a penguin and an owl. 

He let out an irritated grunt when the kid survived the combined attack. How many times had she been hit now? It definitely must have been over four times at least because there was no way that the brat had survived up to this time without being hit once. 

‘ _ Oh nevermind, I must’ve miscounted. _ ’ The shadow grinned widely when Hat Kid failed to move out of the direction of the falling stage lights. 

She let out a wordless cry (shame that he couldn’t hear his pocket dimension from the outside because he definitely would’ve loved to hear that) and collapsed on the ground in a messy heap. The pocket dimension went dark, the conscious memories that fueled its image quickly fading away until Hat Kid was the only one left within the abyss. At least, for now. 

Just like the other fifty times when Hat Kid failed to stand up against the pocket dimension, the Snatcher clicked his fingers together and let his magic fill the abyss. The memory that was used for the illusion was quickly restored back to the way it was before Hat Kid began the fight: the bird brains were up on their little fancy stage, penguins and owls alike filling the side bars with their flashy cameras, bright lights shining down at the stage and the kid-

Huh. Was it him or did the kid look worse for wear?

Not that he  _ cared  _ of course, but he was pretty certain that his magic healed the kid’s wounds. After all, it wouldn’t be fair if the kid had to keep fighting without some kind of break. Snatcher may’ve wanted the kid dead, but he didn’t want it to be boring. And if that meant healing her after each failure then so be it. At least he’d have the satisfaction of watching her die every time. 

The shadow frowned when he watched Hat Kid all but stumble out of the elevator, her umbrella being the only thing that kept her on her feet as her body swayed left and right. This wasn’t normal. His magic should’ve made her fine, combat ready and all.  

The moment Hat Kid started to fall onto the floor, Snatcher immediately reached out inside the pocket dimension and pulled the child back outside to the real world. 

“Hey hey, kiddo! Contracts are for working, not for sleeping in.” Snatcher berated sharply, dropping the kid next to him. 

Hat Kid stared ahead blankly, taking a moment to recognize her own room before she realized she was no longer in Snatcher’s pocket dimension. “When did I…?”

“You were about to collapse kid.” Snatcher pointed out with a flat look. “And as much as I’d to watch you continue dying, I’m not willing to put up with you sleeping on the job.” 

“Wasn’t going to sleep.” Hat Kid mumbled exhaustedly, forcing herself to sit up. 

Now with the kid in front of him, Snatcher could actually see the extent of the damage and to put it bluntly, she looked like she was one step away from becoming a Dweller. Her skin was paler than usual, making the bags under her eyes stand out in stark contrast. There was a haze to her eyes, a complete lack of attentiveness and focus. Peck, she was barely even looking at the Snatcher, her own (and completely onesided) BFF.

“Kiddo, you look even worse than the time you were a soulless husk and that’s including the time you got stuck in the swamp.” Snatcher observed, frowning down at the child. “I appreciate the effort you’re going at to dying- I mean, completing your contractual obligations but have you even been taking care of yourself?” 

“Worried about me?” Hat Kid teased with a sing song tone, flashing a small smile at the shadow. 

“Shut up, I’m not!” Snatcher protested hotly, almost dropping his book out of shock at the accusation. “I can’t have a minion being worthless while still having so many contractual obligations to fulfill.” The snatcher frowned when the kid continued to sway. “How long has it been since you last took a break, kiddo?” 

“Mmh… Long time? Don’t remember.”  Hat Kid murmured, finally succumbing to the urge to lie down next to an unamused Snatcher. 

“Hey. Hey. Hey. I’m not a pillow.” The shadow shoved the girl away from him. “You do know that we’re in your room, right? You have a bed right THERE.” He gestured at said furniture. 

When Hat Kid failed to muster a reply or make an attempt to move, the shadow grumpily set down his book and picked up the girl by her cape. He floated over to the bed and unceremoniously dumped Hat Kid onto the mattress. 

“Don’t think that I didn’t notice you going at the contracts constantly. Unless you’re just one big masochist, why are you doing this to yourself?” Snatcher questioned, watching Hat Kid crawl under the blanket. “Honestly kiddo, do you have a death wish or something?

“Do you?” 

The shadow’s eyes widened briefly at the question. “Hey! Wait, what d’ya mean by that?!” 

The only thing that replied to the Snatcher’s question was Hat Kid’s quiet snores. Snatcher harrumphed at the girl. He takes the kid to bed and she repays him with a cryptic question and snores. That was the last time he’d ever do anything remotely nice for the brat. 

  
  



End file.
